Recently I’ve realized something. I’m a clinger, and I’d be willing suspect that you might be too.

What do I mean by the term clinger? Well, allow me to explain.

Through social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, it’s easier than ever to “creep,” a slang term for mild stalking via social media platforms. It’s our not-so-secret practice of keeping up with everything our friends are doing.

Beth J. added five new photos from her recent vacation to Hawaii, Rick H. checked-in at Pal’s and Lizzy T. is in a relationship with John L.

Those are just a few of the potential posts that might clutter your timelines. But why is clinging such an issue and why is it important enough to have its own title?

Quite simply, we are able to insatiably feed our need for hope and longing through “following,” “friending,” “liking” and “favoriting” pieces of social media.

Instead of simply acknowledging that it’s time to move on, it seems easier to hold on to the hope and aspiration that the euphoria delivered from a moment immortalized onscreen will make a reappearance.

I’ll put it simply: placing our future happiness and “holding out” for the return of those memories will only leave us lonely, deflated and lost.

It’s a roundabout cycle with no end. And most often it happens in a relationship (platonic or not) that we just don’t want to let go of.

This is where the term nostalgia makes an appearance. When having that intense longing for the past, I so often resonate on those pleasing memories, hoping one day they will return.

In doing this, knowingly or not, I consent that the past is more important than the present and the future and while looking backwards, my steps in the present are jagged, scuffled and confused.

Want to know the saddest part? I (and you, too) allow this to happen. Sometimes, we do it on purpose. We put ourselves through the pain of realizing the “negativity” of our current reality by reliving those past moments, only to realize they are no longer here.

But this doesn’t have to be the case. Though social media allows the opportunity to be plugged in so in-depth with friends half-way across the globe, that doesn’t mean that I have to put myself through that mental-torture.

If you register one thing from this column, it’s that freedom from this cycle is one click away. A simple action of ‘unfollowing’ or ‘unfriending’ someone will no longer allow those images, words and reminders to be strewn across your screen.

You don’t have to live in bondage. Not anymore.

I’ve subjected myself to this lifestyle so much and I’ve come to the sad realization that it’s utterly destructive. In focusing on the past I find myself not even enjoying the present.

Friends, this doesn’t have to be a battle you continue to fight. I’m going to take part, starting now, by clicking ‘unfollow’ on those memories and focusing on my future.

Instead of spending my Sunday scrolling through old tweets for an hour only to end up bitterly depressed that I’m no longer in that peak moment of life I’ll take a run through the greenway, volunteer in the community or learn to swing dance.

Instead of falling through the recollections of the past only to be jerked back to reality like a bungee cord recoiling a jumper, emphasize what’s up ahead.

The peak moments in life that I mentioned earlier happen all the time, you just have to be willing to lift your eyes away from your screen, and your memories, to see it.

Do not hold yourself captive anymore. Click ‘unfollow’, put on your dancing shoes and replace that fake smile with the real thing.

Gage Arnold is a rising junior in journalism and electronic media and can be reached at [email protected].